"Frowns give you wrinkles, (Y/N). You don't want to ruin that pretty face, right?" Midnight asked, "Especially since you'll be on T.V."

The day of the sports festival finally arrived. After five more days of intensive training, all you felt was sore and more nervous than before. Your saving grace was that Midnight had been able to help you control the whole pheromone issue...

"Is this a good idea?" you asked your aunt, "What if I screw up." The two of you were in the restrooms inside the sports arena. Midnight wanted to spruce up her hair a bit, and you were just there to cool your nerves. She paused with her can of hairspray at the ready, and set it down.

"You'll do just fine. I know it," Midnight winked, "Any niece of mine is going to steal the audience's breath away."

"No pressure..." you muttered.

"You better get to your classmates, now. I have to get this show started!" your aunt's sultry voice shooed you away. She was the host of the games, with Present Mic announcing, although it sounded like Aizawa might be joining him as well?

You just nodded. The sports festival was supposed to be fun - a way to showcase yourself and get internships. When you rejoined your fellow classmates outside of the arena, you felt their excitement and determination. It bothered you that all you could feel was dread.

All Might told you to ignore what Shigaraki said, but it wasn't easy. You weren't ready to show the world who you were. You were still coming to terms with it. Most days it just felt like a bad nightmare and you could pretend you didn't have a lineage.

Now everyone will see...

Who will want me?

"You ready, (Y/N)?" Izuku appeared beside you.

"Ready as I'll ever be," you said, "I grew up watching the sports festivals, but actually participating is really intimidating... How are you feeling?"

"About the same. But I don't want to disappoint Al- I mean - anyone! Let's do our best," his lips were uneven but he managed to smile.

You'll do great, Midoriya.

The pleasantries from your other classmates settled after the slumber party. Everyone was too focused on how well they were going to perform. Which was fine, you were hyper-focused as well. You just wanted the damn thing to start already so you'd quit freaking out.

The general studies students arrived next, their group filing in behind yours. That was it. Now all you had to do was wait for Present Mic to welcome you into the arena... where thousands of people were watching... and filming.

Get your shit together! You pressed your hands against the sides of your face.

Someone pinched your arm. Great, people were already noticing how freakish you were. "What gives?" you turned and glared.

Shinso smirked when he heard your displeased remark. He'd been quiet this last week as well, working on a plan for the festival no doubt. You didn't realize how much you missed him. Your scowl softened when he looked at you. Sure, you two still saw each other when you could, but not on the intimate level you were used to...

"Don't let the others see how squirrelly you are," he said.

"Sq-" you gaped, "Hmph. Don't worry about me, Hitoshi."

You spun back around with him chuckling at you, "Good luck..." you whispered, but you weren't sure he heard you.

Present Mic's voice welcomed each class one by one with his mega-voice. He dropped a few hints of favoritism to your class, mentioning the villain attack and all. You rolled your eyes, knowing that was going to put even more attention on you.

You all emerged from the entrance tunnel and walked into a ring of chaos. Like most sporting events, the crowd surrounded you from every angle. Your palms began to sweat, realizing that the insane amount of people in the stands wasn't close to how many more were watching on their televisions.

Midnight took front and center, doing the usual welcomes, and basic rules. All the while flaunting herself like a classless stripper in front of your eyes. Oh, gods...

A large screen was lowered next to Midnight's location. Displayed was a type of wheel that randomized the possible events for the festival. You didn't even know what the options were, but you hoped you could use your quirk minimally. "Our first challenge will be..." Midnight waited for the wheel to stop, "Oooo it's an obstacle course!"

But where? You looked around, but couldn't see how they'd be able to build something like that so quickly. Present Mic took over, sharing a short video clip on the mega-screen describing how the course would work.

That still didn't explain how they built the course that fast!

"It's a loop outside the arena," Izuku mumbled, "If we're starting here, then we're all going to have to get out of that tunnel..."

You were used to him talking to himself, but it got you to thinking. It was a narrow space to have a starting line. People were going to get trampled for sure.

"ON YOUR MARKS!" Midnight waved her trademark whip in the air, "GET SET..."

A horn was blown, and the tunnel of death was born. Everyone was trying to get ahead - nature of the race - but the tunnel couldn't fit the number of you passing through. You were stuck in the middle somewhere, you thought. Elbows were shoving you and digging into your ribs.

This... might actually work?

With all these bodies pressed against you, you could easily steal energy without anyone, not even the audience, seeing. And if your competitors got too tired to continue, even better. So, you took advantage of your situation and focused on taking a morsel from every limb that hit you.

It felt like none of you were making progress. Until you noticed Todoroki making a break for it using his ice quirk. He's going to be a douche, isn't he? If you had a quirk like that you'd just seal the tunnel shut.

Well, damn. You jinxed that.

"What the hell, Todoroki!" Kirishima yelled from somewhere in the madness.

You wanted to get out of this claustrophobic hell, but at the same time, waiting this out meant more energy for you. The student on your back tripped a bit. If he was already tired then you needed to find new victims. You pushed forward, earning a smack to the head by a taller student.

You weren't usually one for revenge... but you definitely took energy from him next.

The savior ended up being Bakugo, who lost his patience and blew the ice wall into oblivion. The mob could finally move forward, but you were patient. You didn't have to get first place, but if you had the strength you could get pretty damn close.

The color that radiated from your skin wasn't one you've seen before. It looked like you found a star in Mario Kart and were blinking several colors at once - probably from mixing too many energies together. Oh well.

It was time to get the show on the road.

"IN FOURTH PLACE - (Y/N)!?" Present Mic exclaimed to the audience, "WHERE DID THIS LITTLE MISS COME FROM? We didn't see much of her in the beginning, but thanks to her incredible speed at the end - and most of the contestants triggering all the boobytraps... - SHE LAUNCHED HER WAY TO THE TOP!"

That was only the first round? You were panting, resting your palms on your knees to support you. Killer robots, pitfalls of doom, and a minefield? Who comes up with this crap? In all honesty, you had no idea how you came in fourth. The minefield was a mess. They filled the bombs with a cloud of weird pink dust, and you couldn't even see anything.

Just lucky I guess?

"(Y/N)!" Izuku was back in the arena as well. He looked beat, but he waved enthusiastically at you.

He got first?! You looked up at the scoreboard now monitored on the screen. The second and third places were Bakugo and Todoroki. Not as much of a surprise.

"I can't believe it," you beamed, "First? You're incredible!"

He blushed, "It was just luck, really. You looked a lot cooler than I did."

"How do you know?" you asked, but he pointed out some smaller screens displayed in the audience. They were in charge of the instant-replays.

"Oh," you winced, "Ugh, do I really look like that?"

"Like what? You look amazing!" Izuku suddenly bit his lip, "I mean, you looked really cool and pretty heroic-"

"SHUT UP, NERD!" Bakugo bumped into his shoulder and stormed off.

You gave Izuku a sympathetic look, and together you waited for the next group of students to make it through. Every time someone from your class came through the tunnel, you cheered, but you were waiting, hoping, for someone else to show...

"Yes!" you threw your fist in the air.

Izuku smiled at your enthusiasm but had no idea what it was geared towards, "Oh, isn't that your friend?" he asked.

"Yeah!" you wanted to run up and hug the bastard, but it was too soon to celebrate. You just gave Shinso a huge smile. There was something different in those sleepy eyes of his - a newfound drive or hope. Whatever it was, you liked it.

Half the students were disqualified after the first round. If that didn't make any of this real, you didn't know what would. You stood next to Izuku as Midnight prepared to announce what the second challenge would be.

"What the heck are cavalry battles?" you muttered.

"I don't really know," Izuku said, "But I don't think anyone wants to team up with us..."

Izuku was granted ten million points for winning the first round. Which was great... if you all weren't playing a game in which you had to steal said points. Apparently, three students had to hold up one player who wore a headband with points on it. The goal was to collect everyone's headbands or just make it out with the most points.

Naturally, Izuku was everyone's target. And you weren't exactly the person people wanted carrying them. Your class knew about your quirk - why would they want someone who will suck them dry and slow them down?

Izuku looked like he was about to cry, so you stepped in, "Hey, I know this kinda sucks, but want to be a team?"

"Really?" he squeaked.

"YOU! GREEN BOY! You came in first place - I want to be on your team!" A girl with pink hair and freaky eyeballs approached your pitiful team. You remembered her from the race earlier - she had a bunch of gadgets and a salesman's ambition.

Izuku just looked happy that someone approached you guys. You were kind of surprised Uraraka didn't, but you understood why. That left you needing only one other player. Izuku said something about having a plan with Tokoyami. While you waited, you peered over at Shinso. You were surprised to see him being the one with the headband.

Then, you looked at his three teammates holding him up and recognized the dazed, blank expressions. Did he use his quirk on them? Was it even necessary in this situation? You shook your thoughts out of your head. Of course, it was, he was doing what he needed to win...

"I got Tokoyami!" Izuku said. His sad-boy persona was gone and replaced by confidence. Good, you thought, we're going to need it if we're going to survive this.

The pink-haired girl, Mei, gifted Izuku with a jet pack and you some hover boots. The plan was to play on the offensive. You didn't need to steal any points to win since you had ten million, but everyone would be after yours.

Bakugo's team was angled in your direction even before Midnight blew the horn. Oh, not just him, every other team was headed your way. We're dead.

The evasive plan worked for a while. You dodged teams by escaping into the air with Izuku's jet pack. Eventually, the other teams got smart and started going for other points in the meantime.

Okay, maybe you weren't dead.

Tokoyami was doing an amazing job in defense. His Dark Shadow, the bird-like phantom attached to him, was the perfect shield - sturdy but also quick and flexible. It also talked? You had no idea this whole time.

You accidentally broke your hover shoes after Mineta chucked purple balls all over the ground. It was either that or be remain stuck and lose your points. Mei was not pleased that her "baby" was destroyed, but you guys were doing it! You were running out the clock.

Then, an ice fortress formed around you, blocking you in with less room to run. You quickly looked about for the perpetrator. There was no way you were going to lose with literally a minute left in the game.

"Todoroki..." Izuku said, "Brace yourselves, guys. Tokoyami, get ready!"

You were surprised it was Todoroki and not Bakugo. Something must've really caught his attention to give up on Izuku. The fire and ice boss had quite the team too; Momo, Iida, and Denki.

Your escape techniques weren't going to help you anymore. You'd have to fight them off, for the remaining seconds you had left. Denki took a shot at Tokoyami, and you noticed that Dark Shadow sounded like he was in pain. He must not like the light...

"Izuku, keep me angled towards them!" you said.

"What?!" All three of them argued.

"I can take Denki's bolts," you insisted, "Dark Shadow can protect our sides."

"Right," Izuku finally agreed. However, Todoroki noticed what you were doing. He and Denki were the two to face you and Izuku in the hero vs. villain challenge after all. Denki didn't send another bolt, and your chest tightened. You were counting on getting the energy from his quirk, but Todoroki must've seen right through you.

Your opponents were still for a moment and it looked like Iida was talking strategy. Your heart was pounding. You didn't have any other headbands. This was it. If they got your headband it was game over.

"Izuku..." you breathed, "Power up."

"What-"

You looked up at him, "Trust me?"

You don't know what came over you. Desperation? The glint in Iida's eye told you that he had an end-all plan, and it terrified you. Izuku was still hesitant to use his full power (apparently he breaks his fingers?) but that didn't mean you couldn't do it for him...

Once you noticed Izuku's green sparks, you grabbed the front of his gym shirt, "Sorry, Izuku!"

The seconds moved like minutes. You kissed Midoriya. His eyes were bulging wide. Poor thing, it didn't seem like he knew what he was doing. Sure, you surprised him, but-

Oh no...

Did you steal the guy's first kiss? During a competition? In front of millions?

...

One crisis at a time.

In the next second, you released Izuku, activated your quirk, and unleashed brutal sidekick. It was a gamble, but you knew Todoroki was aimed towards your left before. Iida also had a plan, which could only mean it had something to do with speed.

Your foot hit metal.

Iida had used a special move. His jets shot him and his team forward at a dangerous velocity. They could have easily swiped the headband on Izuku's head in the blink of an eye.

Except that you were able to hit Iida's leg, just barely, in the millisecond that he passed. You worried you were too late, but your graze was enough to move him and Todoroki out of reach of Izuku.

If you hadn't had Izuku's energy, you might've lost your leg. That was too close, you thought. Your teammates were alarmed by Iida's power, and your own. Only seconds remained in the game and then you were home free!

Todoroki's team couldn't seem to move anymore. Whatever Iida did must have stalled his engines-legs. However, Todoroki made one last attempt. He sent forth a wall of ice spikes. His tenacity was apparent on his face, along with the effort he put into his move.

With the green power surging through you, you prepared a punch just like Izuku's, "Not today, Todoroki..."

The ice shattered. Crystals fell from the sky like confetti, just as Midnight announced the end of the round.

From across the battlefield, Shinso's team managed to take third place, but his eyes were glued on the green-haired boy you were celebrating with.